Supervisory mechanism



C. E. RENSHAW.

SUPERVISORY MCHANISM.

APPucmon min lun: 12. |919.

1,407,81 9, Patented Feb. 28, 1922.

OFFICE- 1 cnnnnns E. EENSHAWOF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, Ass-IGNOR v'ro NEWMAN CLOCK COMPANY, mo., oF NEW YORK, N. Y., -A ooRroRATioNOENEWsYOBK,

.Be'itknownf that I," CHARLES E. RENSHAW, beln'g'a 'citizen of the United States, residing at East Grange, county of Essex, and State of 'New Jersey, havelnvented certain new andAusefiil 4Improvements inV Supervisory Mechanism, of which the following is a full, clear, andjexact'des'cription. Y

Valvefo'conti'olling'the flow of fluids areinlsucli'lcornmon use that they form a component partof lpractically ever mechan ical"equip'ment'i' general use. nder certain, conditions it isessential that they should remain open or remain closedy at all times eirce `t 'for makin ot er recognize recognized fact that loss of life andgreat damagehas resulted through oversight or design in permitting valves to remain closed Iwhen their' normal 'position should he Open, and fv'ice 'versa. l if, j`

The invention which constitutes ythe -sub-V jectjmatterf'of this application relates to supervisorymechanism, specifically described in connection ,with sprinkler systems. The use of automatic sprinklersystems is coming `more and moreinto vo e, 'but like all other systems of Water distribution the valves 4 at times must necessarily be closed temporarily in order to effect repairs, to prevent freezing, and lfor man'y other purposes. Therefhas been andis a tendency on the part of Workmen torleave onebor more ofthe valves closed, `thereby putting a part or the whole of the 'system completely out of commissionwith a result of considerable losses in cases of fire. v p y l My inventionY therefore has to do with 'mechanism adapted to be connected to a valve forl controllin the access to a recording'key located adyacentthereto. That isy tosay when' the valve i'sfopenas it normally should be, access' may be had'to the key, but ifthey valve'is closed the key is not available. vAs each one of these valves (or stations) is equipped with a key a time-print may be made on a record dial of :i watchmans clock which would indicate the time at which the station was visited, So long as these imprints are made at the required intervals, as shown by the record dial, it is a sure indication that the valves at these particular times were opened. But if the imprint of aV certain statlon Were omitted from the record dial it would be an equally repairs, extensions or for' purposes; and 1t 1s a well# sUPERvIsOEY MEOHANISM. l

Speciication of Letterslatent. lPaf eilted Feb.'28, 1922. Application inea :une 12, 1911i. serial No. 303,609.v i

supl 'indication that the key at that station was inaccessible and therefore the valve was l closed. Of course,l if it is a art of vthe watchmans duty tovopen the va ve he `could .p v

then make thefi'mprlnt. In any event, the devlce wlll have served its purpose. Further ollqect'-4 and -advantages,[will appear from the `detailed description ,belowy taken infconnecti'onv with the accompanying Y drawinggfin Which-' 1A V v v Fig.v 1 is an' elevation, partly *in section,

of a valve illustrating the invention in front elevation applied thereto. 'y 5 Fig. 2 is a sectional side elevation of cerain parts of the structure illustrated in 1 l, J

' 3 is a section taken on the line 34-3 i' of Fig. 2. i

Referring ,to thefdravving detal,

fixed tothe sleeve v13 and adapted to rotate the samein order to impart a longitudinal movement to the valve-stem let and thef gate valve (notshown) attached thereto.-

Fixedly mounted at fanyr convenient "location is a lcontaneror receptacle 1 in which a watchmans key, or other suitable recordproducing'means, 2 is mounted., The details of construction of this key need not be herein specified ,as the type of key described and claimed in the patent to Baldwin 1,238,706, or any of the other types known in therecording artmay ,be employed.` The key 2 is preferablypivotally mounted at-3; within the receptacle 11 so as to b e movable f rom a position within' the same, as shown in' full lines in Fig. 2` to;a ,position parti:\ll \Y outside the same, as shown in dotted lines inthe same figure. A springet secured; :it one end to a lug 5 in casinor l and at its other end to an arm (i secured to the keyY 2 constitutes :1. means for biasing said key to its outer oraccessible position.

ln order to render the key 2 inaccessible or inoperative` the following mechanism muy be provided. The front of the receptacle l, which is the only open side thereof, may beprovided with vertical flanges 7 and detachable strips S to form a pair of veres"y tical grooves in which a sliding door 9 is adapted to travel. It will be seen that when the'rdoor 'i9 elevated :or .open as .indicated closedwor lowerfpositimr the lower edge' -thereflof engages the key 2 to move the latter to the inaccessible or inoperative position against the. action Vof ,the spring 14. 4.The lowerfrdntedge'cf the receptacle l may betlar'igedA as indicated.' at 17 "and provided with' adetachablstrip 18 to forma horivertical grooves, for the purpose of-providl ing a morefeiective seal of the receptacle when the door is 'in closed position.

A"plat'e19'provided With a vertical slot ,QOfinaytbdetachably secured to the receptacle 1 between the flanges 7 and 17 and the door 9".Eor"th" purpose of minimizing the chancesofbreakageof parts when the key 2 is in the operative'positi'on. The slot -20 is preferably 'made just large enough to clear thelkeyand 'to-permit'the free movement of the latter from one position to thepther. The plate1^19 'servesalso as a means for preventin the introduction of any obstructions into" t eireceptacle' 'which 'might' interfere with the operation;n

Inaccordancevvith my. invention 'connections are provided.betiventhe door 9 and a moving. part-of the-valve to render thekey 2 inoperative or inaccessible-when the valve isclos'ed Ieither'wholly or partially to .any material extent A simple form'of such connectionsis illustrated-in Figs. 1 and 2 and conrprise'san'arm 25J-secured at one end to thefupper 'end of the valve spindle'4 14 and secured atl its other end to a rod'gin turn securedat-itsother end to the-upper part of the'doo'rlt).1 The parts'25 and 26 may be made/of-any;lenigth,"depending on the distance between'the'valve andthe receptacle 1.

Ttieldesign of parts is suc-h that when the valve is in normal position the key is accessible `or operative as sho-wn in Fig. 1 and in dotted-'lines in Figa?. Asthephysical embodiment' hereinV disclosed relates to a sprinklersystem, the normal position of the valve is that in which it is open. If the valvehas been closed amaterialamount and leftin that position the door 9 will have been closed either entirely or partially. In either'event the key 2 ivillbe inoperative or inaccessible so far as effecting a record at that particular station is concerned.

IL' on making his rounds, the watchman discovers that the key 2 is inaccessible he will know, if he is acquainted with the system`r that the valve at that sta-tion is not entirely open. He will then open the valve, which operationfxvill cause-the keyv automatL cally to become accessible and he may then make his record. If, because of ignorance, he does not realize the significance of the inaccessibility or inoperativeness` of *the-key he Wil-lbe unable'to obtaina 'record' at that station. Inspection of his record card will, hoiveveryshovv'whether the valve at any particular station equipped with my invention 4was-openenclosed at any particular time:QA If the dialof the watchmans clock does not show a registration covering all of the valves which he -is required to supervise-,it may. readily be determined @which ..valvfeuer valv .he had .fou.nd.not.:to .benin-normaflm` i position. r zontalg'rooveg'simiiar to the above described- The construction illustrated and desoriibedir.y 0 is merely the preferredembodimentolimygL invention and. .it is to ibe runderstoodsthatl i do not limit myself` thereto-.asdt is lobviousa. not only that i. many `.ohi'mges ,mayffbe .made

in point of detail.' but. otherqembodiments .35..

may be resorted to .Withoi1t.departingfrom.` the true spirit andscope of:my. invention...

What I c1aimis:.

l. In combinatiomla valve, a record prof, ducing key movable rom anmperative .to .90. an inoperative position and viceversa andi. biased to operative position, andimeansop@ eratively connected to saidy valve for.ren-.: dering said key. inoperative when said. valve is moved fromnormal position. f.

2. In combination, a valve, a key. movable.. from an operative to an inoperative position and vice versa and biased to accessible post. tion, and means comprising `a part opera tively connected to said valve for`rende'ringg100 said ke inaccessiblewhen said valve is moved rom normal position.

3. In combination, a valve, a key receps4v tacle having a door, anoperating. element,' and means for simultaneously open-ingsaid valve and door by moving said operating: element.

4. In "combination, a valve having alongis tudinally movable-stem, a stationary'recep.- tacle, a manually' operable recording-.device within said receptacle, a closure forsaid -receptacle, and means for causing said closure A to be moved by and to the same extent Tas said stern.

5. In combination, a valveV having a longil tudinally movable stem, a stationary receptacle, a manually operablerecordingdevicel within said receptacle., a sliding closure for. said receptacle, and means for causing said closure to be moved by and to the same extent as said stem..

6. In combination, a valve, a key recepA tacle having a door, a key in said receptacle,4 means i'or simultaneously operating said valve and door and-means for automatic-ally projecting said key from its receptacle when said door is opened.-

T. In combination, a valve, a key, means for moving said key to .operative position i whenever said valve is actuated in one directien, and means for` mo said key to inoperative position when sai said valve is aetu'aleed in the oppositie direction.

Sain combinatlon, avalve, a stationary receptacle, a key pivotlly mounted in said receptacle, a door for said receptacle, and means operatively connecting said door to sald valve. fr

9. In combination, a valve, a key and re- 10 ceptaele therefor, resilient means connecting signature.

CHARLES E. RENSHAW. 

